Getting Started

Plinken is a native digital audio workstation for music production, sound design, video scoring, live streaming, and 3D scene authoring. It runs as a desktop application with GPU-accelerated rendering, real-time audio processing, and a built-in Lua scripting engine.

Installation

macOS

1. Download the .dmg installer from plinken.com
2. Drag Plinken.app into your Applications folder
3. On first launch, macOS may ask you to approve the app in System Settings → Privacy & Security

System Requirements

Requirement	Minimum
OS	macOS 13+ (Ventura or later)
GPU	Metal-capable GPU
RAM	8 GB (16 GB recommended)
Audio	CoreAudio-compatible interface

First Launch

When you open Plinken for the first time:

1. Sign in — Create a Plinken account or sign in. Your account syncs preferences and enables collaborative features like Spaces.
2. Create a project — Press ⌘N or click New Project in the Project Manager. Choose a name, tempo, key signature, and sample rate.
3. Explore the UI — The interface is divided into panels described below.

Plinken remembers your last project and reopens it automatically on subsequent launches.

Interface Layout

Transport Bar

The top bar contains transport controls and global state:

Element	Description
Play / Stop	Toggle playback with Space
Record	Arm recording with R
Return to Start	Jump to bar 1 with Return
Tempo	Current BPM (editable)
Time Signature	Beats per bar / note value
Timecode	Current playhead position in bars:beats:ticks
Cycle	Toggle loop mode with ⇧C

Timeline

The central workspace where you arrange content on tracks:

• Track Headers — Left side: track name, mute (M), solo (S), arm (R), volume fader, pan knob
• Arrangement Area — Right side: regions (audio, MIDI, video, face) placed on a time grid
• Playhead — Vertical line showing the current position
• Ruler — Top ruler shows bar numbers; click to reposition the playhead

Track Types

Type	Description
Audio	Records and plays back audio regions
MIDI	Drives virtual instruments and sends MIDI to external hardware
Video	Holds video clips synced to the timeline
Text	Text regions for subtitles or lyrics
Face	ARKit blendshape animation data for 3D characters
Bus	Submix destination for routing multiple tracks
Automation	Automation-only track (no media regions)

Footer Bar

The bottom bar provides quick-access panel toggles and status info:

Button	Key	Panel
Assets	A	Asset Manager — browse and import project files
Mixer	⌘M	Mixer — channel strips with volume, pan, sends, plugins
Editor	E	Region Editor — detailed editing of the selected region
Plugins	P	Plugin Panel — browse and load audio plugins
Chat	C	Chat — conversation with Plinky, the AI assistant
Team	T	Team — see collaborators in the current Space
Keys	K	Music Keys — virtual MIDI keyboard
Generate	G	Workflow Editor — Lua-driven pipelines

Panels

Panels slide in from the edges of the window. Most panels toggle with a single key press. You can have multiple panels open simultaneously.

Key Concepts

Concept	Description
PPQ = 960	Plinken uses 960 Pulses Per Quarter note for timing, matching Logic Pro’s resolution
Track IDs	Tracks have stable numeric IDs (0–127) used by the command system and Lua scripts
Regions	Clips of content (audio, MIDI, video, text, face) placed on tracks at specific tick positions
Commands	Every action goes through the command system, enabling undo/redo, scripting, and remote control
Modules	Internal state containers (transport, timeline, mixer, assets, etc.) that hold all project and session data
Spaces	Collaborative workspaces for real-time multi-user sessions
Compositor	GPU-accelerated layer system for building visual scenes (streaming, video production)

Project Directory Structure

When you create a project called “My Song”, Plinken creates:

~/.plinken/projects/My Song/
├── My Song.plin        # Project file (JSON)
├── audio/              # Audio files
├── video/              # Video files
├── images/             # Image assets
├── action/             # Lua action scripts
├── face/               # Face animation data
├── scripts/            # Fountain screenplays
├── lyrics/             # Lyric files
├── glb/                # 3D models
├── usd/                # USD scene files
├── splat/              # Gaussian splat files
├── editor3d/           # 3D editor state
├── comfyui/            # ComfyUI workflow configs
├── volumeFX/           # Volume effects data
└── logs/               # Session logs

Chat & Plinky

Press C to open the Chat panel. Plinky is Plinken’s built-in AI assistant — it uses the same Lua API that you can script by hand.

• Ask production questions or get help with features
• Tell Plinky to perform actions: “mute all tracks”, “set tempo to 140”
• Open the Chat Manager with ⌃C to manage conversation threads

Press ⌃Return to send a message directly to the AI.

What’s Next

• Projects — Create, open, and save projects
• Assets — Import and manage media files
• Keyboard Shortcuts — Full shortcut reference
• Lua Scripting — Automate anything with Lua
• Plinken Remote — Control Plinken from your iPhone